It is often said that Koreans are not good at negotiations or compromise. As a matter of fact, social pacts and grand social compromises that require concessions from all parties are rare in Korean society.

But hopes had been a little higher than usual when two panels ― one for reform of the pension scheme for government workers and the other for reform of the labor market ― started talks. Hope was high because the issues matter greatly for the future of the nation.

But both the Body for Grand Social Compromise on Pension Reform and the tripartite committee of government, employers and labor that has been tackling labor reform have made little progress after months of discussions.

The lack of tangible results from the negotiations raises worries that both the pension panel and the tripartite panel will be unable to reach an agreement by their deadlines, which are on Saturday and next Tuesday, respectively.

A big problem is that the main opposition party has yet to come up with its own proposal on how to reform the deficit-ridden pension plans. Its proposal to increase the payments for the nongovernment sector pensioners, without presenting how to raise the funds, was nonsensical.

Equally irresponsible and unreasonable are the government workers’ unions. Apparently deliberately dragging their feet, they demand that discussions should include other pension schemes ― like those for military veterans and teachers. Moreover, they demand an extension of the operation of the panel beyond the deadline. Would it be a coincidence that they called for mass street demonstrations Saturday?

The lack of progress of the tripartite committee on labor reform is similarly frustrating. Having started talks on Dec. 23, the panel’s participants are still wide apart on key issues like the scope of base wages, the length of the workweek, later retirement and narrowing the gap between full-time workers and temporary and part-time workers.

It goes without saying that it would be far better if both the pension reform panel and tripartite panel were to strike a deal by the set dates, but if not, both the government and the National Assembly should waste no more time.

In this regard, the ruling Saenuri Party was right to announce that it would not agree to extend the pension reform panel’s activities, even if it fails to reach an agreement by Saturday. Any such compromise could be pursued in the Assembly, which, after all, represents the people.